That time of year again, and as in recent years the DRA has made no changes to the MS-1 Report file specification for 2024. That said, we are still waiting to hear back from the folks in charge whether there will be any changes to the list of approved utility companies. Here’s what that means for you going forward:

Report Format:

The report format has not changed and there are no new categories of exemptions that will require you to rework any existing exemptions or credits. So, in coordination with your assessor, you should feel free to begin previewing and reviewing your MS-1 report once you and your assessor determine that all necessary pickups, new construction, updates, etc. have been completed for 2024. But from a software standpoint, there is no update this month you’ll need to install before being able to generate and submit your MS-1 Report to the state. However, you should hold off submitting your report to the DRA until we receive final word on the list of approved utility company names.

Approved Utility Company Names:

It is not uncommon, as a result of mergers and acquisitions, for the names of several approved utility companies to change from one year to the next. And if one of these companies is in your municipality, you can have issues electronically submitting the MS-1 Report to the DRA if your report includes the old name. But the good news is, once we know the final list of utility names, we will be able to provide you with a summary of the changes, and if one of the companies exists in your municipality you can contact us to run a simple script so you can update it. We’ll let you know as soon as we know.

When You Do Submit Your Report:

Again, in coordination with your assessor, when you decide you are ready to submit your report, you can review our online documentation if you have questions on the process. And if you still have questions, give us a call.

If You Are New to the MS-1 Process in Avitar Assessing:

Relax, this shouldn’t be too painful. You can start by familiarizing yourself with the process, and give us a call if you still have questions.

And Stay Tuned for Information on an Upcoming Online User Group Session:

We’ll send out schedule and sign-up information in the next week or two for the next online assessing user group session.

In the meantime, keep your head up for the list of changes to the approved utility company names to see if you will need to contact us for that script. And regardless of whether or not we hear from you in the next month, we hope you are enjoying a great summer and we look forward to seeing you during our upcoming user session.

Thanks.